Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Increases Stock Position in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 40.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 69,700 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 19,930 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Cognex were worth $2,823,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Cognex by 19.8% in the 2nd quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,819 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of Cognex by 11.3% in the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,829 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $179,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of Cognex by 18.7% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,977 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Cognex by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 13,871 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $588,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning lifted its position in shares of Cognex by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 21,919 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $888,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ CGNX opened at $40.85 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $39.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.98. The company has a market cap of $7.01 billion, a PE ratio of 78.56 and a beta of 1.40. Cognex Co. has a 52-week low of $34.79 and a 52-week high of $53.13.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. This is an increase from Cognex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on CGNX shares. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on shares of Cognex from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Vertical Research started coverage on shares of Cognex in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $58.00 price target for the company. DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Cognex from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Stephens upgraded shares of Cognex from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cognex from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cognex has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.17.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Dennis Fehr purchased 6,570 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $38.04 per share, with a total value of $249,922.80. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,570 shares in the company, valued at $249,922.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Cognex news, Director Dianne M. Parrotte acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $38.62 per share, with a total value of $77,240.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 11,340 shares in the company, valued at $437,950.80. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Dennis Fehr acquired 6,570 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $38.04 per share, for a total transaction of $249,922.80. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 6,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $249,922.80. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Company Profile

Cognex Corporation provides machine vision products that capture and analyze visual information to automate manufacturing and distribution tasks worldwide. Its machine vision products are used to automate the manufacturing and tracking of discrete items, including mobile phones, electric vehicle batteries, and e-commerce packages by locating, identifying, inspecting, and measuring them during the manufacturing or distribution process.